White Woman

Hey, CoffeeCup is giving away cool stuff for the holidays. Get your free gift here:

2011-12-18T14:23:00.000-06:00

Hey, CoffeeCup is giving away cool stuff for the holidays. Get your free gift here:: You could find a Macbook Air, Kindle Fire, digital camera, or other goodies in your stocking this holiday season.

To my Dad... voor mijn vader...

2011-11-15T11:10:00.000-06:00

Hier zijn we dan Pipa, met deze woorden wil ik je een goede reis wensen. Want vandaag is het moment voor een nieuwe reis. We zijn bij elkaar voor jouw spirituele afvaart.

Mijn vader is opgegroeid in een groot gezin met veel leven in de brouwerij, zussen en broers en een vader en moeder die hun eigen kleding keten hadden. Ik wordt door zijn familie herinnerd aan de waarde die mijn vader mij heeft meegegeven; openheid, vertrouwen, onvoorwaardelijke liefde en verantwoordelijkheid. Ik wil graag een aantal speciale momenten delen over zijn leven.
Mijn vader begon te werken toen hij heel jong was, hielp mee in de winkel waar altijd wat te doen was, van kleerhangers recht hangen tot aan overhemden vouwen. Ik heb verhalen gehoord over dat hij het lieve kleine broertje was en nooit een last was om mee op sleep touw te nemen. Zijn passie was sport, en hij blonk uit in waterpolo, zeilen en turner. Ik vergeet nooit dat we een sport parcours deden en daar een turn paard stond. Mijn vader nam een aanloop en begon even te demonstreren dat hij het nog niet had verleerd. Ik was zeer onder de indruk. Hij heeft me ook leren dansen, ik met mijn voeten op zijn voeten en ik kon de hele wereld aan.
Na school, wilde hij eigenlijk gymnastiek leraar worden maar daar zat geen brood in volgens zijn ouders. Hij werd verliefd op de vriendin van zijn zus en trouwde met Mam. Ik werd daarna geboren. Pap heeft zijn elektronische opleiding gedaan. Dit en zijn liefde voor muziek, (ah die flamenco op gitaar... en uit volle borst zingen...) bracht hem naar de opleiding voor geluidstechnicus. Ik ben als kind regelmatig mee geweest naar de televisie, en als ik heel stil kon zijn mocht ik bij Papa zitten, en als ik niet stil kon zijn, moest ik weg wezen, en werd ik in de regiekamer gezet of liep ik te dwalen door de kostuum- en decor afdeling. Ik heb vele collega's en klanten van papa ontmoet die altijd bevestigde aan mij dat Pap zijn vak zeer goed verstond en blij waren met hem samen te werken omdat hij hun product zo mooi liet klinken.
Pap was een perfectionist en was altijd aan het bijwerken, verbeteren, het nog mooier maken. Door die instelling heeft hij het ver gebracht.
We zijn een aantal keren verhuisd vanwege het werk en natuurlijk de gezins uitbreiding, ik kreeg er een zusje en wat later ook een broertje bij. We verhuisde naar een dorp met een haven en Papa verzorgde de verhuur van een zeilboot voor zijn werk. We hadden de luxe om wanneer de boot niet was verhuurd te zeilen. Dat waren heerlijke tijden, een met de natuur, lekker uitwaaien en de zeiltechniek leren van mijn Pap.
Heel belangrijk was, dat mijn vader er altijd voor ons was en voor ons zorgde. Ik kan niet meer op een hand tellen hoe vaak hij mij heeft verhuisd. Dat moment dat je daar staat in een lege kamer met dozen om je heen was altijd minder erg omdat hij er was. Hij sjouwde onvermoeibaar alles naar binnen, zette het in elkaar en ging niet weg voordat alle elektronica was aangesloten. Had overigens wel de neiging om soms dingen te gaan repareren die het in mijn ogen nog prima deden. Maar dat is liefde.
Op zijn 55ste kreeg hij vervroegd pensioen en dat gaf Mam en Pap meer vrijheid. Ze hebben heel wat reizen en uitstapjes gedaan en vele mooie herinneringen gemaakt.
Het was 49 jaar geleden nu dat ik mijn vader leerde kennen. Hij leerde me door te zetten, het zelf uit te vinden, niet bang te zijn en recht door zee te gaan. Zijn steevaste antwoord op mijn problemen: “Weet je wat je doet? Je ziet maar!” zette wel altijd zelf aan het oplossen.
We hebben heel wat afgelachen, mijn bijnaam voor hem is een samenstelling van Pipo de clown en Papa, omdat hij me altijd aan het lachen maakte. Pipa en ik hebben samen vele tekenfilms, westerns en James Bond films bekeken. De vakantie tijd was op kampeer avontuur (ik noemde het verdwalen), maar hij maakte me duidelijk dat het om de reis ging en niet de bestemming. Is hij niet een bijzonder mens?

Op deze dag, viert mijn vader zijn spirituele vrijheid. Op deze dag, nu, hebben we allemaal een deel van hem bij ons waar we ook gaan of staan, hoe laat het ook is of welke afstand maakt niet uit. Nu heb ik een papa die altijd bij mij en bij jou kan zijn, tegelijkertijd.
Ik heb vrede wetende dat Pap bij jou is en dat je niet alleen bent, want je bent niet alleen. Je kunt hem nu altijd spreken, al is het midden in de nacht en hij is dan bij je. Neem hem mee op jouw levens avontuur.
Ik wil als laatste dit meegeven, opdat het je kracht geeft. Ik heb absoluut geen angst voor de dood. Door mijn ‘bijna dood’ ervaring, is dood naar mijn mening, een overgang naar een andere realiteit. Hij is nu bij ons allemaal wanneer we hem maar nodig hebben.

Lieve Pipa, ik verwelkom je in jouw nieuwe realiteit. Blijf voor altijd bij ons en help iedereen zoals je altijd deed. Je kunt trots zijn op ons, daar zorgen we voor, we zullen je niet teleurstellen. Ik weet dat je dichtbij bent.
Ik hou van jou.

Lost a whole year...

2011-11-15T11:08:00.001-06:00

This is one crazy year and it is not over yet...

Happy Holidays - Fijne Feestdagen

2010-12-04T12:47:00.000-06:00

Another greeting by Smilebox

First Snow

2010-11-26T08:13:00.000-06:00

First snow of this year arrived early morning. It makes the landscape so peaceful. Love snow.

Official Artwork Derby Kentucky 2011

2010-11-18T11:14:00.000-06:00

Churchill Downs Unveils Official Artwork for 2011 Derby, Oaks

I love the new print for 2011.

2010-07-11

2010-09-30T18:21:00.000-05:00

Hup, Holland, Hup

Pretty much done with the snow...

2010-02-09T09:34:00.000-06:00

Pretty much done with the snow now. I watched the snowflakes come down... stared out my window... enjoyed the prettiness of an all white landscape... appreciated the stillness around me... looked at the squirrel looking at me while eating. I like to have Spring now with the warmth of the sun on my skin.

Winter Wonderland in Shelbyville KY

2009-12-15T16:45:00.001-06:00

We are lucky we have so much sun hours here you sometimes forget Winter is coming. Where I live it actually is nice to have a big truck instead of a normal car when you want to get out and do your shopping. You can not just walk to the store here, the shops are to spread out, to far away and with these temperatures you do not even want to make an attempt doing that. Usually when it comes winter, we forget to try to drive with my car. On the road I live are only a couple of houses and my neighbor's 'job' is to honk at the driveway to pick up all 'his' women for a drive in to town to do our groceries together. Which works pretty good that carpooling.

I Love Tea

2009-10-20T17:36:00.000-05:00

I love tea, as in hot tea. Which is hard since the national drink is Iced Tea. It is hard to find some good tea, real leaves and all. But I did find my favorite site now where they have this cool app where you can blend your own.

Check out my Sweet Punch

Also another great place to be is the tea shop in Shelbyville, Through the looking glass.

2009-07-31T16:17:00.000-05:00

Our weekly harvest straight from our garden. I love it, our own fresh peppers (paprika), cucumber (komkommer), we make pickles with them and the tomatoes are so juicy and ripe. A better taste then this you cannot get.

Spring is here... along with the needed rain...

2009-04-03T07:06:00.001-05:00

The snow has melted away and Spring arrived along with it showers. Much needed, the trees and green are happy. The fruit trees are blossoming and I love my tulip tree. You can tell that people are getting out their 'wintercave'. It is getting busier on the street and we are all busy to fix the damage of the winter and the storms on our land. At night I can sit outside again, soaking up the last sunbeams with some good coffee in hand.

My Travels...

2009-03-26T08:12:00.000-05:00

Create your own visited country map.

WereldExpat: Van de Hollandse regen in de Canadese kou

2009-02-24T11:47:00.000-06:00

WereldExpat: Van de Hollandse regen in de Canadese kou

Ice Storm Kentucky

2009-02-02T06:36:00.000-06:00

The storm was harsh. First we had a heap of snow, followed by freezing rain. This gave a thick layer on top of the roads and the trees. Making the branches sigh heavy. For many trees it was to much and they had to give. Roads, roofs, cars are covered in limbs of the trees. A lot of people were and some still are out of power.
Here in Shelbyville, the emergency team, worked very hard and we got power restored fairly quick.
When looking outside it is truely winter wonderland but dangerous too. Neighbours helping eachother out with hauling branches from the road and shoveling snow from the drive way to get out of the house. Sharing rides for groceries. That is a good feeling. When in need there is help.
We are back to 'normal' today, school has a couple hours delay but opened again, back to work and start cutting of branches of trees hanging over powerlines and phone lines. It looks like we have had the worse for a while anyway. I know we still have February and March coming. Hopefully a bit warmer then it has been.
Stay warm everyone!

CNN.com - Special Reports - The 44th President

2009-01-19T05:45:00.000-06:00

CNN.com - Special Reports - The 44th President The inauguration of the president will be live streamed. As by law exactly at noon, Mr. Barack Obama will be sworn in.

Through The Looking Glass

2009-01-09T17:40:00.000-06:00

Through The Looking Glass
Love the place, nice people always good for a chat. Great tea (yes the kind that has leaves) and cute gifts as well.

Birds taken over...

2008-12-23T10:06:00.000-06:00

The birds are loving the berries in this tree so much they invited all their friends....

Internet Archive: Details: 'Twas the night before Christmas

2008-12-17T15:20:00.000-06:00

Internet Archive: Details: 'Twas the night before Christmas Here you can find the famous Christmas Story on audio files, the story is read to you by Mike Barlow, a UK voice actor who predominantly voices cinema trailers. Happy Holidays

Tanja Askani » Blog Archiv » REH & WILDKANINCHEN (DEER & WILD RABBIT)

2008-12-13T15:09:00.000-06:00

Tanja Askani » Blog Archiv » REH & WILDKANINCHEN (DEER & WILD RABBIT) This is to cute... the pictures are amazing.

Travel, Cook and Love with Passion

2008-12-10T07:35:00.000-06:00

Travel, Cook a...

Recipes gathered f...

By Annelize Deane

Book Preview

Urge Congress to Permanently Protect the Arctic Refuge! - The Petition Site

2008-11-21T06:17:00.000-06:00

Act Now! Help spread the work to protect the Artic Refuge.

Obama Victory speech - Chicago 11/04/08

2008-11-05T08:58:00.000-06:00

YouTube - Obama Victory speech -Chicago 11/04/08

Here are the results!

Indian Summer

2008-10-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

I so love fall, the colors are magnificient. It is freezing at night and the sun is warming everything and everybody up during the day again. It gives us an astonishing painting right outside my window.

The big old maple is showing off making a pretty frame for the barn behind it. Squirles are looking for nuts and burrying them whereever they feel fit and hopefully they still remember where when they get hungry. Th hummingbird finally flew down south and the geese made their way down too.

It is more quiet at night without the chatter of the birds and leaves us with the wind rustling though the fall leaves.

More fall pictures can be found at picasa and my my webshots

Baling the Hay

2008-10-21T12:26:00.000-05:00

I have this thing for old barns and it is a pleasant surprise to see that in my backyard they are surrounded with hay bales now. Such a pretty sight.
All the birds decided to fly south now and the tree tops are no longer filled with their chatter. The pond is normally surrounded with tall grass and makes a good hide out for a lot of animals.
But today the farmer started to bale his hay and instead of my wildlife view it is green hills again in the fall. Nice view!

The Governor's Office in Frankfort KY

2008-10-13T12:23:00.000-05:00

That was so fantastic, my brother came over to visit from The Netherlands. Lekker bijpraten op z'n hollands ;) Catching up in Dutch is so goooood. We spent a lot of time just hanging out, enjoy the sun shine and went some places. Such as Louisville, Frankfort and close surroundings. It was wonderful to share my favorite spots with him and show him I am doing pretty good in the US. In Frankfort we had the opportunity to see the office of the governor. I love the architecture of the building. Nice views as well from the top of the hill. Glad you came over and hopefully it will not be to long until the next visit!

Crash Landing

2008-10-10T05:42:00.000-05:00

Last night there was suddenly lots of noise, followed by a big 'thud', some moaning and then silence. We hurried to the window and just caught a glimp of this poor creature crash landing in to our tree. She has been there since...

October 31st ~ Halloween

2008-10-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

Fall, October, I love it for two reasons. One of them is Halloween! I love this holiday, it is so much fun to dress up your yard, your house and the family as well, grins, in spooky stuff I mean. I was thinking about a haunted cemetary and creepy people trying to dig out their graves and skulls and such.
The second reason are the georgeous fall colors, it is such a feast for the eye, every year again. Trees transforming in art.

Lil bit of history of Halloween:
The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.
The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

So it is time to start making a plan and begin to decorate the house these coming days. I keep you posted on that. Happy Halloween!

My curtains in my purse...

2008-10-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

I am walking around with my curtains in my purse. That is, I am walking around with a picture of my curtains. Okay, I admit, lil bit bit weird. Let me explain, I have this ongoing 'Design on a Dime' thing and walk around with pictures of bits and pieces of my interior. You never know when you walk in to something and then... then you are standing there... was this the right red, or was it not... ummm
I had that to many times, hence my curtains in my purse. This girl is prepared!

Shelbyville, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2008-10-01T13:31:00.000-05:00

Shelbyville, Kentucky - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Everything is so big, spacey and so uncoordinated, white, yellow, green houses, large sheds, no sheds, broken down half way, empty houses, mailboxes, wooden houses, a lot of wooden houses and no bike paths or side curbs but a heap of land around houses having their own road. There is so much space. With an average of 83 per square mile you can breath. Large forests, hills, views for miles and wide expansions of land, there is actual land that people did not build on.

Cherokee - Google Search

2008-09-27T09:05:00.000-05:00

Cherokee - Google Search I like to share with you. Cause I can ;)

Happy Native American Day!

2008-09-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

I needed to share this story from Troy with you:

Happy Native American Day! By Troy Doney, 9-26-08

It was the only thing that Ronald Reagan ever did right and marked what was apparently the Year of Reconciliation in South Dakota. Happy Native American Day, everybody!
It’s an official holiday in South Dakota and California only, but who needs an official proclamation?
How does one observe or celebrate Native American Day, you ask? There are many ways. Get involved with the culture in some way. If there’s one near you, go to a Powwow. Have an Indian Taco, since I can’t find or cook one. Chat up a Native, maybe even get some lunch. Educate yourself, understand the culture a little better and look at things from a different point of view.
Strike the phrase ‘Indian Princess’ from your vocabulary.
Watch the debates tonight. Keep in mind that Obama was adopted into the Crow Tribe, and that John McCain served on the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
Listen to the “Ballads of the American Indian” album by Johnny Cash.
Watch how everyone else is celebrating Native American Day, whether they know it or not. NBA player Derek Fisher traversed the Blackfeet Reservation to promote Sen. Obama.
Brendan Sullivan, lawyer for embattled Alaska Sen. Stevens, proclaimed that “When it comes to things around the teepee, the wife controls. That might seem old-fashioned, but Ted Stevens is old-fashioned.”
A bill designed to protect the sacred Bear butte in South Dakota from encroaching development was rejected.
Senators voted on to award the Congressional Gold medal to the Native American “code talker” servicemen of World Wars I & II.

The University of North Dakota still hasn’t dropped the nickname “Fighting Sioux.”

Pregnancy, Babies, Prematurity - March of Dimes Foundation

2008-09-27T08:54:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy, Babies, Prematurity - March of Dimes FoundationToday a lot of americans walk for a good cause. And that is great espacially when you realize that Americans just do not walk at all. I brought my daughter by car to the church where they register and start the walk. And she was concerned if she could do this or not... walk 3 miles. It is not like running or anything like that, it is just walking. You realize then that we do not walk enough at all. So this is a good thing for all of us. I hope March of Dimes brings in lots of money.

Vote for my shirt please pretty please ;)

2008-09-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

Huzza for the maintenance people!

2008-09-24T12:04:00.000-05:00

Hurricane Ike and my backyard. We were lucky here. We only met the outerskirts of hurricane Ike, if you can talk about skirts at all with a name like that. But anyways... Only a couple of older trees had to give in and bowed down for the storm we had here.

There are still more then 10000 of people without power in Louisville and here in Shelbyville we still have some glitches, as in limited power, some aplliances work some ask to much I guess.

But this will be a matter of days now and everything will be fixed again. There are so many maintenance people working hard to get it all restored. Thank you guys!

Americans take Ryder Cup for 1st time since 1999

2008-09-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

Hey, I am proud, the Americans won... even better two of them are Kentuckians, born and raised about 30 minutes from here.
"United States beats Europe on Sunday to win golf's greatest team prize for the first time since the "Miracle at Brookline" in 1999." Is what the headlines are in the newspaper.

Anthony Kim, Boo Weekley and Kentuckians Kenny Perry and J.B. Holmes played fantastic at Valhalla, even without the world's greatest player. Tiger Woods could only watch on TV as he recovers from knee surgery.

The Painted Stone Settlers ~ 2008 Battle

2008-09-15T08:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend was the annual reenactment from The Painted Stone Settlers in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

The Long Run Massacre & Floyd’s Defeat Re-Enactment
was held all weekend at the Orchard Farm fields. We were welcomed with a cannon. Plenty of time to browse through all the merchandise and take a peek in the lives back then. There was a wide variety of products and crafts available in both camps.
We were treated on a impressive battle. Everyone worked hard on appearance. It was a great event, thanks to The Painted Stone Settlers, Inc. This is a non profit group located in Shelbyville, Kentucky. The Painted Stone Settlers are dedicated to bringing the 1781 history of this area to life through the annual re-enactment and other public forums.

There was a record crowd on Saturday and the new location at Red Orchard was ideal. In a press release, Kathy Cummings, president of the Painted Stone Settlers, said the event is not a glamorized version of the 18th century that is often seen in movies. "You can see, feel and smell it. Smell the black powder, hear the cannon charge and feel the fear that our ancestors must have felt," she said.

More pictures are available at my picasa web album.